59 Facts About Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.

Lord Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism.

Lord Shiva is known as Adiyogi Lord Shiva, regarded as the patron god of yoga, meditation and the arts.

Iconographical attributes of Lord Shiva are the serpent around his neck, the adorning crescent moon, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair, the third eye on his forehead, the trishula or trident as his weapon, and the damaru drum.

Lord Shiva is usually worshipped in the aniconic form of lingam.

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Lord Shiva is a pan-Hindu deity, revered widely by Hindus in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

The term Lord Shiva connotes "liberation, final emancipation" and "the auspicious one"; this adjectival usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic literature.

Some authors associate the name with the Tamil word meaning "red", noting that Lord Shiva is linked to the Sun and that Rudra is called Babhru in the Rigveda.

The Vishnu sahasranama interprets Lord Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", and "the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti ".

Lord Shiva has Dasha-Sahasranamas that are found in the Mahanyasa.

Lord Shiva-related tradition is a major part of Hinduism, found all over the Indian subcontinent, such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia, such as Bali, Indonesia.

How the persona of Lord Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well documented, a challenge to trace and has attracted much speculation.

Lord Shiva characterizes these views as "speculative", but adds that it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull.

Lord Shiva's contrasting aspects such as being terrifying or blissful depending on the situation, are similar to those of the Greek god Dionysus, as are their iconic associations with bull, snakes, anger, bravery, dancing and carefree life.

Similarly, the use of phallic symbol as an icon for Lord Shiva is found for Irish, Nordic, Greek and Roman deities, as was the idea of this aniconic column linking heaven and earth among early Indo-Aryans, states Roger Woodward.

Lord Shiva is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity.

Nevertheless, both Rudra and Lord Shiva are akin to Wodan, the Germanic God of rage and the wild hunt.

Term Lord Shiva appears simply as an epithet, that means "kind, auspicious", one of the adjectives used to describe many different Vedic deities.

In medieval sculpture, both Agni and the form of Lord Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.

Lord Shiva was associated more than any other deity with Soma, a stimulant drug probably borrowed from the BMAC religion.

Lord Shiva's rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers.

Texts and artwork of Jainism show Indra as a dancer, although not identical generally resembling the dancing Lord Shiva artwork found in Hinduism, particularly in their respective mudras.

The Kaivalya Upanishad similarly, states Paul Deussen – a German Indologist and professor of philosophy, describes the self-realized man as who "feels himself only as the one divine essence that lives in all", who feels identity of his and everyone's consciousness with Lord Shiva, who has found this highest Atman within, in the depths of his heart.

The Svetasvatara Upanishad set the tone for early Shaivite thought, especially in chapter 3 verse 2 where Lord Shiva is equated with Brahman: "Rudra is truly one; for the knowers of Brahman do not admit the existence of a second".

Lord Shiva who sees himself in all beings, And all beings in him, attains the highest Brahman, not by any other means.

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The Lord Shiva-related Tantra literature, composed between the 8th and 11th centuries, are regarded in devotional dualistic Shaivism as Sruti.

In Lord Shiva related sub-traditions, there are ten dualistic Agama texts, eighteen qualified monism-cum-dualism Agama texts and sixty-four monism Agama texts.

Lord Shiva-related literature developed extensively across India in the 1st millennium CE and through the 13th century, particularly in Kashmir and Tamil Shaiva traditions.

The various dualistic and monist Lord Shiva-related ideas were welcomed in medieval southeast Asia, inspiring numerous Lord Shiva-related temples, artwork and texts in Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, with syncretic integration of local pre-existing theologies.

Shaivas believe that Lord Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is.

Lord Shiva is not only the creator in Shaivism, but he is the creation that results from him, he is everything and everywhere.

Lord Shiva is the primal Self, the pure consciousness and Absolute Reality in the Shaiva traditions.

Tantric Lord Shiva tradition ignored the mythologies and Puranas related to Lord Shiva, and depending on the sub-school developed a variety of practices.

The Trika sub-tradition developed a theology of triads involving Lord Shiva, combined it with an ascetic lifestyle focusing on personal Lord Shiva in the pursuit of monistic self-liberation.

Lord Shiva, along with Vishnu, is a revered god in the Devi Mahatmya, a text of Shaktism considered by the tradition to be as important as the Bhagavad Gita.

Lord Shiva is one of the five deities, others being Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha or Skanda or any personal god of devotee's preference.

Lord Shiva is considered the Great Yogi who is totally absorbed in himself – the transcendental reality.

Lord Shiva is the Lord of Yogis, and the teacher of Yoga to sages.

Theory and practice of Yoga, in different styles, has been a part of all major traditions of Hinduism, and Lord Shiva has been the patron or spokesperson in numerous Hindu Yoga texts.

Lord Shiva is depicted as both an ascetic yogi and as a householder, roles which have been traditionally mutually exclusive in Hindu society.

Lord Shiva is identified with Devi, the Divine Mother; Shakti as well as goddesses like Tripura Sundari, Durga, Kali, Kamakshi and Minakshi.

In some traditions, Lord Shiva has daughters like the serpent-goddess Manasa and Ashokasundari.

Depiction of Shiva as Nataraja is a form of Shiva.

Pancanana, called the pancabrahma, is a form of Lord Shiva depicting him as having five faces which correspond to his five divine activities : creation, preservation, destruction, concealing grace, and revealing grace.

Linga Purana states, "Lord Shiva is signless, without color, taste, smell, that is beyond word or touch, without quality, motionless and changeless".

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Furthermore, it says "Shiva, the Supreme Lord, has no liuga", liuga meaning Shiva is transcendent, beyond any characteristic and, specifically the sign of gender.

In Shaivism pilgrimage tradition, twelve major temples of Lord Shiva are called Jyotirlinga, which means "linga of light", and these are located across India.

The Linga Purana mentions twenty-eight forms of Lord Shiva which are sometimes seen as avatars, however such mention is unusual and the avatars of Lord Shiva is relatively rare in Shaivism compared to the well emphasized concept of Vishnu avatars in Vaishnavism.

In Indonesian Shaivism the popular name for Shiva has been Batara Guru, which is derived from Sanskrit Bhattaraka which means "noble lord".

Lord Shiva is conceptualized as a kind spiritual teacher, the first of all Gurus in Indonesian Hindu texts, mirroring the Dakshinamurti aspect of Shiva in the Indian subcontinent.

Lord Shiva has been called Sadasiva, Paramasiva, Mahadeva in benevolent forms, and Kala, Bhairava, Mahakala in his fierce forms.

Worship of Lord Shiva became popular in Central Asia through the influence of the Hephthalite Empire and Kushan Empire.

Lord Shiva is clad in tiger skin while his attendants are wearing Sogdian dress.

Lord Shiva is mentioned in the Buddhist Tantras and worshipped as the fierce deity Mahakala in Vajrayana, Chinese Esoteric, and Tibetan Buddhism.

In Mahayana Buddhism, Lord Shiva is depicted as Maheshvara, a deva living in Akanishta Devaloka.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Lord Shiva is depicted as Mahakala, a dharma protecting Bodhisattva.

In China and Taiwan, Lord Shiva, better known there as Mahesvara is considered one of the Twenty Devas or the Twenty-Four Devas who are a group of dharmapalas that manifest to protect the Buddhist dharma.

Statue of Lord Shiva depicted as a Chinese Buddhist deva on Mount Putuo Guanyin Dharma Realm in Zhejiang, China.

Lord Shiva has been referred to as "the god of cool things" and a "bonafide rock hero".